iLied
by TheRightWrongs
Summary: I don't even know what came over me. Ok so I do know what, but it scares me to no end. I can't possibly… I can't even bring myself to say it never mind think it. iSaved Your Life a la Seddie
1. iSaved your Life

**AN: SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen iSaved Your Life yet, do not read this unless you WANT to be spoiled! I'm dedicating this to my friend Krystle aka Lucky-Starz06, with a special shout-out to MoonlightDreamz for her help even though she's never seen iCarly.**

"Carly! Freddie is staring at your butt," Sam yells out in the middle of the Groovy Smoothie.

"What! No I'm not!" Freddie argues back in defense.

"Sure you weren't Fredward," Sam laughs as she pats him on his head before catching up to Carly; who has long since chosen to ignore her two friends as they bicker back and forth shortly after leaving school.

"Hey T-Bo can I get blueberry-banana bonanza," Carly asks the man behind the counter as she hands him three dollars. "If you guys are done I'll be over here," she says, pointing to an empty table by the window.

"What can I get you two?" T-Bo asks politely.

"I'll get a strawberry splat," Freddie says, handing T-Bo his debit card.

"I'll have a berry-berry blitz," Sam orders, grabbing Freddie's drink from T-Bo and walking away to sit with Carly.

"Sam, that's mine! You forgot to pay!" Freddie yells after her.

"Me. Paying? Now that's comical," Sam laughs as she takes a sip of Freddie's smoothie pointedly while he watches her angrily.

Freddie begrudgingly pays for both his and Sam's drinks and grumbles to himself on the way back to the table. He shoves her drink in her face and quickly snatches his own before she can steal another sip.

"You owe me Puckett," He says, before slipping into silence as the two girls chat away about the new boy in their math class, Carlos or whatever his name was, he doesn't really care.

The three leave thirty minutes later to head to the Shay's apartment. They turn a corner when Sam gets bored and as a prank steals Freddie's backpack from the shoulder he has it dangling from, and runs across the street taunting him. Freddie runs after her, like she had planned, leaving Carly in the middle of the street yelling at both of them to cut it out. She stands there with her arms crossed as she watches Freddie chase after Sam. Sam disappears around a corner and that's when Freddie gives up and walks back to where Carly stood waiting.

Before Freddie can cross the street, a speeding taco truck rounds the corner where Sam has just run and barrels straight for Carly. Carly panics and stands in the street staring at the truck, her legs paralyzed by fear. Freddie looks past her at the truck as the driver tries desperately to stop and makes a split second decision. He darts out into the middle of the street and pushes Carly away from the impending danger. Carly falls to the ground in a daze as the truck misses hitting her by a foot. Freddie isn't as lucky though when the truck fishtails to a stop and sends Freddie flying towards the curb in a heap.

He is vaguely aware of someone screaming his name as he fights to stay conscious. In the end, he loses this battle with the sirens of an ambulance as his last memory; all that matters is that his last vision was of Carly, alive.

Sam has gotten far before she realizes that Freddie hasn't been following her, so she turns back knowing that she has won again. She smiles to herself as she rounds the corner where she has left her friends, and her smile fades quickly when she sees the flashing lights of an ambulance and two cop cars. She fights her instinct to run from the cops with her growing worry for her friends. She hasn't been gone for that long, so she isn't sure what has happened. She walks up to one of the cops, surveying the scene and taps him on the shoulder. She again fights the urge to run when the cop turns around; it is one who is frequently after her when she gets into trouble.

"What happened?" She asks timidly as she cranes her neck to search for any sight of her friends.

"Ah, Ms. Puckett. We were just about to look for you, there seems to have been an accident-" The cop began only to be interrupted by a blur of brown hair engulfing Sam in a huge hug.

"Sam! The truck! It hit Freddie! Freddie has been hit by a truck! He saved me!" Carly sobs into Sam's hair.

"What?!" Sam screeches, startling her best friend.

"After you ran away with his backpack he turned around and was about to come over to me, but then that taco truck came around the corner," Carly explains after gaining some composure. "The truck was heading straight for me and I panicked. My legs felt like they were glued to the middle of the road. I was staring at the truck and then all of a sudden Freddie runs out and pushes me away. I fell and I heard the truck's brakes squealing and I heard a loud crash when the truck tipped and I look over and I see Freddie lying down on the curb. I ran over and he was passed out and then the truck driver came over and told me he had already called 911."

"Are you alright?" Sam asks calmly.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Have you called Spencer already?" Sam asks being unusually rational in a crisis.

"Um no, not yet, I will now."

"Don't bother, I'll go get him," Sam answers, hugging her friend tight in reassurance.

She takes off running but makes the trip back when she notices that the overturned taco truck has been left unattended. She doubles back, grabbing two soft shell tacos and begins her sprint to Bushwell Plaza again. She runs past Lewbert, ignoring his shrill protests about food in his lobby. By passing the elevator, Sam takes the stairs two at a time until she reaches the Shay's floor. She pauses in front of the door and catches her breath before barging into the Shay's apartment.

"Freddie's hurt!" Sam yells at a surprised Spencer.

"What happened?" He asks anxiously.

"A big taco truck came around the corner and Freddie ran out and pushed Carly out of the way." She explains frantically.

Spencer just stares at her blankly for a second as she finishes her explanation. She pulls out one of the tacos and proceeds to eat it.

He stares at the teenage girl in front of him curiously wondering what he should say.

"Is that a taco from the truck that hit Freddie?" Spencer asks, settling on this question.

"Well, me being hungry isn't going to help him!" She yells at the baffled Spencer.

He continues to stare at her before speaking again.

"Where is Carly?" He asks.

"I'll take you there," Sam says, urgently taking his hand and pulls him out the door.

Sam continues to drag him out of Bushwell and down the street as an ambulance passes them, presumably carrying Freddie to Seattle General. They round the corner and see Carly talking to the same cop. At this moment Spencer yanks his arm from Sam's grasp and jogs to where his little sister stands.

"Carly, are you alright?" Spencer asks frantically, examining her body for any possible sign that she wasn't.

"I'm fine, just a few bruises and scratches," she answers, pointing to her grazed knees and palms, shrugging listlessly.

"Oh, thank God," Spencer sighs while hugging his sister gingerly.

Carly doesn't hug her older brother back, but stares ahead at the overturned taco truck with a glazed blank look in her brown eyes. Sam looks at her best friend curiously, wondering what she was thinking about but never asking out loud.

"Officer is it alright if I bring her home now? Do you need her for anything?" Spencer asks separating himself from his sister.

"Of course you can. She was checked out by the paramedics earlier –" The officer begins.

Sam tunes him out and focuses on Carly who is visibly shaken by the earlier events. She stands staring at a spot on the sidewalk opposite them; a spot that looked to be stained with a small puddle of blood, Freddie's blood. Sam gets the chills as the image of a limp Freddie Benson fills her mind. He was slumped over the sidewalk like a ragdoll, and as much as Sam liked causing the nerd pain she didn't like this image, not one bit.

She fights back tears as she follows the Shays back to Bushwell. The three of them travel in silence and pay no mind to Lewbert as he voices his disapproval of people in his lobby. Sam feels another surge of tears as she stands in front of the Bensons' door but fights them back again as they enter the apartment just as quietly.

Carly immediately collapses on the futon and sobs into a cushion. Sam joins her using a blanket that is draped over the back of the futon to hide her face. Spencer sits between the two and lets them cry not wanting to get in the middle of it. After a few minutes the girls' cries die down to sniffles and Spencer takes that as his cue to speak up.

"I'm going to make some dinner now. Sam, will you going to be staying?" He asks the puffy eyed blonde.

She nods not trusting herself to speak as she unburies herself from the blanket. Carly lays the cushion back in its place and stares straight ahead with the same glazed look she had been wearing since the accident. Sam reaches over to give her friend a hug but is shocked when Carly flinches upon contact.

"Sorry," Carly croaks as she finally comes back down to earth.

Carly puts on a small smile and returns Sam's hug before excusing herself to the bathroom. Sam stands up and joins Spencer in the kitchen where he is preparing spaghetti tacos in an attempt to cheer them up. It works a little as Sam's stomach growls audibly.

Carly comes back 15 minutes later and sits down next to Sam at the table. Spencer hasn't placed the food on the table yet when Carly speaks up.

"What are we having?" she asks a little of her usual pep in her voice.

"Spaghetti tacos!" Spencer announces brandishing a platter of meat balls, taco shells, and various toppings.

Carly's face drops at the sight of the tacos. She pushes her chair back scraping it against the floor as she runs up the stairs to her room.

Spencer looks after his sister puzzled before Sam connects the dots with one word: Tacos.

**AN: I began this as a present to my friend Krystle for Christmas…that didn't pan out for me. Everything I wrote was too cliché for my tastes. Then the infamous iSaved Your Life promo aired and inspiration struck and this is it. This is part one of my take on iSaved Your Life and what SHOULD have happened in my opinion. I'd appreciate your feedback please. I'm working on part 2 as we speak and let me assure you that I will not be sleeping tonight until the whole story is finished and published. I will admit though that since seeing the episode tonight I'm now far from done but I hope you do enjoy my take on its events.**


	2. iAm Relieved

**AN: I apologize for the wait. I have a list of excuses that run from falling asleep despite my resolve to finish in one night, to getting distracted and procrastination, and ultimately being grounded by my parents. I wish I had more to offer you in this chapter but I want to finish this as quickly as possible. It's a short chapter but it's something. I hope to have the last chapter done by the end of the week but this time I make no promises.**

Sam and Spencer eat in silence agreeing to give Carly some space, but neither could eat much. Spencer gives up and begins throwing away his half eaten taco shell and spooning the unused meatballs back into its bowl. Sam finishes her taco and helps Spencer clean up before going to see Carly.

Sam stands outside Carly's door listening carefully for a clue to how Carly was coping. Judging from the lack of sound Sam knocks softly on the door hoping Carly will invite her in.

"Carls?"

No answer comes so Sam knocks harder. She again receives no answer. Samantha Puckett is not one to give up and take no for an answer. She gives Carly one more chance before letting herself in.

"Carly, can we talk about it?" She asks seeing her best friend lying motionless on the bed. "I know how you feel."

"Do you?" Carly asks angrily bolting upright.

Sam is taken aback by the sudden change in her friend. Carly Shay was not an angry person and this girl in front of Sam was. Her brown eyes almost black boring into Sam's blue green ones.

"Yes" Sam says confidently holding her own.

Carly stares Sam down for a while before breaking down in tears. Sam engulfs her in a hug allowing Carly to cry on her shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sam asks.

"I honestly don't know what had happened Sam. One minute I'm standing there watching Freddie chase you and then the truck came and I turned around and it was coming right at me. I panicked! I stared at the truck willing it to stop, and when I realized that it wasn't I tried moving and I couldn't I even tried screaming for help but it was like my body was possessed." Carly explains rapidly. "I didn't even see Freddie coming. All I remember is seeing the driver's face screaming at me to get out of the road and then it becomes a blur."

Sam nods her head not wanting to interrupt Carly.

"I don't even remember feeling Freddie push me. I can't remember what it felt like to hit the ground. I just remember looking up and seeing the taco truck on its side and Freddie on the sidewalk," At the mention of Freddie Carly takes a shaky breath.

Sam feels a pain in her chest, almost like a tugging on her heart. She dismisses the feeling and focuses on the words coming out of Carly's mouth.

"I ran over to him screaming his name hoping to God that he was alright. When I reached him though his eyes were closed and he was moaning from the pain I guess. The truck driver came over and told me he had called 911 and then he started apologizing to me but to be honest I wasn't really listening. The ambulance and cops came really quick and the paramedic that looked at me said that I was really lucky because I could have died."

More tears streamed down Carly's cheeks. Sam grabs the box of tissues off of Carly's desk, grabs a few for her and hands the box over to Carly.

The girls sit in silence for a moment until Carly's cell phone interrupts it. It's a text from Freddie. Sam glances over Carly's shoulder reading the message out loud.

"I'm ok :)" The girls are both relieved at this. Carly immediately calls Freddie back only to get his frantic mother. Sam watches as Carly and Mrs. Benson talk and she can't help but to feel a small sadness when she realizes that she never got a text from Freddie. She doesn't know why this upsets her but she pushes it to the back of her mind because at this point it didn't matter; Freddie is alive.

**AN: Thank you to those that reviewed, alerted, and/or favorite. Again I apologize for the length.**


	3. iAm Screwed

**AN: I suck. I hope you don't hate me for taking so long to update this story, but truth be told there were a lot of factors that went into the delay of this update. I won't bore you with the details because at this point you just want to read the story right? Right.**

It's been a few months since the taco truck incident. All had returned to normal with Freddie and Carly's relationship. Carly went about her business and didn't notice the brown eyes of her best friend/hero/almost boyfriend; those brown eyes of the boy that I catch myself staring at lately.

I don't even know what came over me. Okay so I do know what, but it scares me to no end. I can't possibly… I can't even bring myself to say it never mind think it.

We're finishing a rehearsal for a baby Spencer bit when Carly asks us if we want something to drink. She leaves using the stairs. I see Freddie craning his neck to watch her leave and feel a pang of jealousy. I can almost kick myself but instead I channel my anger toward Freddie.

"Let it go" I shout at him.

He turns to face forward again. He gives me a cold stare and just returns back to his tech cart.

"Your hero status has worn off and you know what; she doesn't want to date you just like I said." I tell him hoping it hurts.

"And who's to say she doesn't," Freddie says trying to shake me.

"Has she talked to you about it?" I ask curiously because to be honest I want to know.

Freddie looks away avoiding my eyes and my curiosity gets the best of me. I walk over to him and turn his entire body around to face me. I look him square in the eye and ask him again.

"Have you talked to her about it?"

He stares at me unblinking and I feel uneasy. It's then that I realize how close we are. I've got one hand wrapped around his wrist and the other gripping the small blue iCarly remote. I look back up at his face and I see his eyes still staring into my own and for some reason it scared me. I let go of his arm but I'm glued to the spot inches from his face. He searches my face some more before he mutters an answer.

"No" he whispers.

Before I can comprehend what just happened the elevator kicks into life as Carly makes her way back up with the drinks.

"Here's some of my special lemonade!" She announces carrying a tray with three tall colorful glasses of liquid topped off with drink umbrellas.

We sit down on bean bag chairs and start talking about the show. I twirl the umbrella between my fingers as I listen to Carly talking about the new bit we were introducing on the show tonight. I find myself glancing over at Freddie often only to see him giving that longing stare to Carly. The tiny umbrella meets its end in my hands as I get angry. I jump up quickly hoping to make a quick exit before I completely fall apart in front of them.

"Sam? Are you alright?" Carly asks me concerned.

"I'm fine. I just need some air. I'll be back before the show tonight," I assure them biting back the angry tears that were threatening to come out. I glance once more at Freddie before exiting the studio.

_**FREDDIE'S POV**_

Sam had left leaving me and Carly alone in the studio. She looked upset but I'm too distracted thinking about our confrontation earlier. I was hoping that she was wrong about Carly but I'm too afraid to find out for myself. I debate in my head for a while before resolving that it was now or never.

"Carly?"

"Yeah" she answers taking a sip before placing the cup on the tray beside her.

"I was wondering and I'd understand if you're not ready to talk about this I mean I'm pretty sure I'm not ready either but here I go and so I was wondering" I ramble looking down at the wood paneling of the floor.

"Freddie what's up?" Carly asks me confused.

I take a few deep breaths before looking up and I instantly regret it. Carly's face is too distracting for her own good. I take one last deep breath and gather my thoughts before opening my mouth again.

"Do you remember that agreement we made a few months back?" I ask her trying to start off slowly.

"No," Carly answers with a look of pure confusion.

"Remember when I saved you from that truck," I begin watching her face intently waiting for signs of understanding. As soon as the word 'saved' pops up I see the comprehension.

She remembers, I think to myself. I wait for her to reply impatiently.

"Listen Freddie," She begins uneasily.

I notice her squirm uncomfortably in her pink bean bag chair.

"You don't feel the same do you?" I ask her sadly.

"No," she says guiltily "I'm sorry Freddie but you were right. I let what you did influence me and in the end you're still the same Freddie and I'm the same Carly as before; just friends."

'Just friends' is the nail in the coffin. My short-lived romance with Carly was going to remain that way.

_**SAM'S POV**_

I don't go far after I storm out of the studio. I grab my bag off of Carly's couch and head down the hallway of Freddie and Carly's apartment plaza. I find the place I'm looking for and make sure no one is around before opening the window and stepping out onto the fire escape.

I sit down on the metal steps and dig through my bag for my pearpod and thoughtlessly pick a song before putting the blue ear buds in. I hum along with Adele's _Chasing Pavements _while I staring up at the darkening Seattle sky.

By now my tears break my resolve and are staining my cheeks. I wipe at my eyes fruitlessly, the tears won't stop so I let them run their course.

I watch as an airplane crosses the sky, and clear my mind. I'm trying to make sense of the intense emotions I was feeling.

Love. I don't know when it happened but I fell in it; with Freddie of all people too. I didn't even know how it happened for crying out loud.

Okay so I'm lying but still, I thought it was just a crush. You know that usual crush that comes when you share your first kiss with them. But that was a year ago, it should have gone away by now. Instead it had only grown stronger.

I blame Freddie though, with his stupid little smirk every time he makes fun of me. Even his making fun of me, no one ever does that willingly knowing how violent I am. That boy has seriously gotten under my skin.

Why did I have to go remind him about Carly? He's probably up their right now asking her out. I don't even know how Carly feels. I never wanted to rock the boat by asking her either. This is all so confusing.

"Ugh!" I groan. I lean my head back against the steps as I let the next song fill my head and thoughts. Pretty soon I'm humming along with the Lady Antebellum song "Need you Now" and I become lost in my own little world.

Seconds, minutes, hours later, I don't really know at this point, I'm being awaken by cold droplets of rain falling on my face. I check my phone and grimace when I notice the 3 missed calls and 8 texts; all from Carly.

I skim my texts as I make my way back to the Shay's apartment almost bumping into Freddie as he made his way out.

"Oh there you are! Carly just sent me out to look for you,"

"Well here I am, let's get this over with,"

"What's with you?" He asks me opening the door.

I just glare at him for a while before gently pushing my way around him. Ignoring him right now was for the best; plus it's not like he actually cares. He doesn't press the issue any further as he follows me into the elevator for an awkwardly quiet ride up to the studio.

The show goes anything but smooth. I ignore Freddie throughout the entire show, and Freddie broods behind his tech cart. Carly tries unsuccessfully to carry the show through the tension.

Freddie immediately excuses himself after the show; my eyes once again follow him as he closes the door behind him as he takes the stairs.

"Do you think Freddie will be alright?" Carly asks me.

I don't give her an answer because frankly I don't care right now.

"I mean, I thought he had gotten over me already. It has been almost 6 months,"

Right there, I almost snap. I bite back the harsh words that would normally have no problem leaving my mouth. Carly is the smartest person I know, but sometimes she can be so clueless. Is she really going to ignore the facts? Freddie has been fawning over her since day 1. He's never going to get over her. And there's that pang again. Could I be anymore screwed in the head? (Or heart for this matter)

I don't think I can handle this right now so I say goodnight to Carly and practically sprint for the door. I feel Carly's eyes on me as step into the elevator but I ignore them. I pause just outside of the door and glare at the door across from me. The image of what lays behind this door floods my brain and the waters of this image spill from my eyes.

Damn it! I scold myself, why am I crying? I guess this answers my earlier question. I really couldn't be more screwed in the heart. I don't even bother to wipe my tears as I head down the hallway. I know that I'm in no shape to go home.

Now I'm walking the halls of Bushwell aimlessly until I find myself back at the fire escape from earlier. It's still raining but I won't let it bother me. I step out of the window onto the metal grate of the fire escape. I instantly walk over to the edge and peer out over the city of Seattle. People complain a lot about the weather but I think the city is breath taking when it rains like this. I close my eyes and let the cool drizzle wash away my thoughts.

It's a small escape though as I hear someone clearing their throat behind me.

"Sam?"

I know that voice. Freddie.

**AN: 1 more part left :D I'm excited, are you?**


	4. iLied

I really can't deal with this now. I turn around slowly and Freddie's confused and concerned face is staring at me from the window.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks me stepping out of the window to join me. "Are you crying?"

I don't answer him though; instead I make a break for it. I run for the window and try to jump through it. Freddie stops me by blocking my escape. I panic and go for the next best thing. I start to run down the stairs only to slip on the wet metal. Freddie hurries over to where I'm laying.

"Sam what the hell is going on?" He asks helping me to my feet.

"None of your damn business!" I say yanking myself from his grip. "You have no right to pretend that you care about me!"

I can see that my words have stung him and at this point I don't care. I'm tired of pretending I don't care. But he doesn't give up.

"Sam, what's wrong?"

I stare at him for awhile trying to come up with a plan to avoid telling him the truth, but at this point I'm tired.

"I lied to you Freddie" I say hoping that he just blows it off and won't inquire any further. But that smallest hope had no chance.

"That's nothing new. Now tell me what's really going on."

"I'm out of here," I say before trying to make another escape.

"Sam, seriously are you okay?" Freddie said pulling me back. He looked at me with pleading eyes and I give in.

"Do you remember when those guys came out of Spencer's pants and tied us to those chairs?" I can see the look of confusion on his face. He's trying to figure out the connection before I explained it to him and he doesn't see it yet. "And Carly asked us about our kiss" I finally add.

He starts getting visibly uncomfortable, probably thinking that if he talks about it again that I'll hit him. He nods his head cautiously and fearfully.

"What was your answer?" I ask and I can tell that he wasn't expecting that.

"I don't know what you're talking about," He answers and I can't tell if he's just playing dumb or if he genuinely doesn't remember.

"She asked us if we liked the kiss," I answer somewhat desperately.

He still looks confused but I can see him thinking of the safest way to answer the question, the answer that won't provoke an attack.

"Please just be honest Freddie, I'm trying here"

He hesitates still before slowly giving me his answer. "It was nice, I guess"

"No! Not you 'guess' you either know how you feel or you don't!" I yell at him causing him to cringe.

"Okay fine. Honestly it was nothing special. It was just to get it over with right?" Freddie asks, but I'm still stuck on the nothing special part. I'm trying my best to mask the disappointment but it's almost like telling the rain to stop.

Almost as if on cue, the rain began falling harder like God was proving my point for me. I push my wet bangs behind my ears and say what I have to say before I choke on my words.

"Well here's what I thought. I liked the kiss, as first kisses go." I said only to see Freddie open his mouth to speak again. "No, you're going to let me finish." I warn him

"I was hoping that you possibly felt the same way, but I was wrong. I lied to you that night Freddie. I don't hate you."

"Well I don't hate you either Sam."

"I said to let me finish. This is incredibly hard for me, don't you see that?" I cried. I wondered if he could see my tears or if he just thought it was the rain.

I wait a while before I find the nerve to speak again. "This may be hard to believe but I like you Freddie. I like you a whole lot more than I should have allowed myself to. For Christ's sake you're in love with my best friend! How pathetic am I?" by this point I'm on a roll. I'm pacing back and forth doing everything in my power to not look at Freddie. "For years you've had this twisted obsession with Carly and I've been there to remind you of just that. You never once gave up on it, not once! Even after I told you that her crush on you wouldn't last. I just don't understand how someone so smart could be so dumb."

"Hey!" Freddie began before I gave him an if-looks-could-kill glare. He reluctantly allowed me to continue.

"Then again, how could I be so dumb as to fall for the one guy who wouldn't be able to return my feelings." At this point I may have been talking to myself trying to get everything out into the open. "It's just you always came back. Every time I would push, you'd push back. You grew a backbone and suddenly I just saw what was there all along no matter how hard I've been trying to ignore it. But now I'm just done, I won't put myself through it anymore Freddie. Are you happy now?"

I looked up at him only to see he had closed the distance between us, he looked at me with what seemed to be a mixture of fear and curiosity. I froze thinking to myself – What is he doing?

I didn't have to wonder much longer when Freddie pressed his lips to my own. I was horrified, isn't this what I wanted?

No I decided, as I pushed him to the ground.

"What the hell Sam? I thought you wanted me to do that!" Freddie yelled as he picked himself up.

"No it's not what I wanted Freddie, I want you to kiss me because YOU want too not because you think that's what you're supposed to do. I want you to like me for your own reasons that don't involve me spilling my guts to you. And most of all I want you to forget everything I told you tonight. I'm done. Goodbye Freddie." I said walking away from him.

The rain at this point was torrential and I was soaked. I made the ten block trek home but didn't go inside immediately. Instead I sat on the outside steps and let the rain wash over me, almost like physically wiping the slate clean after tonight or at least that's what I fooled myself into thinking. If I were honest with myself I'd admit that I hadn't let go.

_-Freddie's POV_

I feel like I entered the twilight zone. Samantha Puckett just told me that she likes me. Sam Puckett likes me, Freddie Benson. I could wrap my mind around that bombshell, so I did something crazy and kissed her, which turned out to be the wrong thing to do.

My pants were soaked from where Sam had pushed me down. I brushed any dirt off the backside and made my way back inside just in time for a down pour. I hesitated on whether or not I should make sure she got home alright but in the end I decided not to. There was also no way I could go back to my apartment and attempt to explain to my mom why I was wet when to her knowledge I was just at Carly's. So that's just where I went. Spencer opened the door for me, he looked like he was going to question me but I stopped him with a question of my own.

"Can I use your bathroom?"

"Uh sure…did you want to borrow some clothes too?" He asked while turning off the TV.

"No thanks; there should be some extra clothes in the studio." I say before disappearing into the hallway that led to the Shays' bathroom. I stare at myself in the mirror for a good minute still trying to process everything. It's a lot to handle. First Carly the girl of my dreams turns me down. Not only was I crushed after that but then her best friend and my best friend for lack of a best word admits that she likes me. So I kiss her because maybe I like her too.

**AN: I swear that this will be finished tonight, i just needed to post this as motivation to get it done.**


	5. iDream A Dream

**AN: I shall hence forth be known as promise-breaker**.

'Can someone please tell me why girls are so confusing?' my brain begins shouting at me. I shake my head to stop the thoughts from giving me a bigger headache. For now I just concentrate on cleaning myself up. I grab a towel and try to dry my hair a little but there is only so much I can do with it. I made it up to the studio without alerting Carly to my presence. I changed and hid my dirty clothes underneath my tech cart. I made it back to the living room without seeing Carly, which in retrospect was good for me.

I had my hand on the doorknob before someone saw me again. Spencer came out of his room and gave me a questioning look.

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," I answered.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked rephrasing his question.

"Not right now, but thanks for the offer Spence."

Luckily my mom wasn't in a particularly aggressive parenting mood when I walked through our door. She looked to be busy with a news story about a possible cure for non-hair growth in teen males. I rolled my eyes and went straight to my bedroom. I flopped down onto the bed grabbing my pearpod off my night table and just pressed play.

The last song I was listening to was Yellowcard's "How I Go" the song picked off where I left off just as the female voice began singing along with the lead Ryan Key. My head was still pounding and I think I may have caught a cold after my time with Sam on the fire escape, but the music was making me feel a hell of a lot better.

_I could tell you of a man not so tall  
Who said life's a circus and so we are small  
Tell you of a girl that I saw  
I froze in the moment and she changed it all_

I didn't know exactly when I fell asleep but I knew that I was dreaming. It felt like déjà vu at first but then I remember that I couldn't possibly have gone straight from being in bed to being in the groovy smoothie. Oh and also I was staring at myself.

"Carly! Freddie is staring at your butt!" I see Sam yell out loud with her trademark mischievous smile. I see the other me get flustered and try to deny it, I laugh because I know the truth. I'm a teenage boy though so I can't be held responsible for what my hormones do.

I watch idly as the scene before me plays out. I laugh as I watch Sam make me pay for her drink. When he and his two friends leave I have to follow, it was just instinct because why else would I have a dream about myself and not follow.

I watch as the events of a few months ago unfold before me, Sam stealing my backpack, me running after her, Carly yelling at us to knock it off and us ignoring her. Once I come back without my backpack and I see the truck heading for Carly who for some reason still hadn't moved from the middle of the street. I don't really get the point of this dream right now.

I'm watching as the taco truck takes the corner and Carly stands there helplessly. I want to yell out to her to get out of the street but of course it's a dream and she can't hear me. I watch as the other me sees what I see and run out to save her. I push her towards the sidewalk but the momentum isn't enough to keep us both out of harm's way. I watch the horrific scene of the truck hitting me almost like it's in slow motion. I'm snapped out of it when I hear my name being screamed.

I look around to see Carly sobbing my name as she picks herself up from the sidewalk. She's hobbling over to where I lay motionless on the side of the street. The truck driver is out of the car and apologizing like crazy. Carly leans down next to me and continues to sob as she pulls out her phone and dials 911. She tells the operator shakily about the accident and I just stare on in horror.

The cops must have been close by because they were the first to arrive on the scene, followed closely by an ambulance from Seattle General Hospital. I see one of the cops pull the truck driver aside for questioning and a paramedic takes Carly to the ambulance to check on her. The other 3 paramedics are attending to my lifeless body, lifting it onto a stretcher carefully.

The hairs on my arms are raised as I watch helplessly. I don't know what to do until I see Sam enter the scene from the corner of my eye. She comes around the corner smiling triumphantly but her face quickly goes ghostly when she takes in her surroundings. The flashing lights illuminate her face in blues and reds. I see her mouth move but I can't quite make out the words that she speaks. One of the officers sees her and leads her towards where Carly is standing. Carly runs to her and I can hear her shrieks about the accident.

I hear Sam shout back with a mixture of surprise, anger, and sadness in her voice. Carly starts to explain something while I decided that I need to get closer. I come in on the tail end of the conversation. Sam tells Carly that she'll go tell Spencer what happened. I see her run towards Bushwell stop mid way, run back to the truck and grab something from its 'debris' and continue on her way. I found myself laughing when I realized that she had grabbed some tacos; typical Sam.

I look back to Carly and hear her conversation with the officer that brought Sam over. She's stopped crying by now and looked less shaken then a few moments earlier.

"Now miss can you tell me what happened here?" He asked her gently.

I was ready to hear what she would have to say but my unconscious mind had other plans for me as I was now in the Shay's apartment. Spencer was just making himself some lunch when Sam busts through the door; Spencer who is startled fumbles his pizza to the floor.

"_Freddie's hurt!" Sam yells at a surprised Spencer._

"_What happened?" He asks anxiously._

"_A big taco truck came around the corner and Freddie ran out and pushed Carly out of the way." She explains frantically. _

_Spencer just stares at her blankly for a second as she finishes her explanation. She pulls out one of the tacos and proceeds to eat it. _

_He stares at the teenage girl in front of him curiously wondering what he should say._

"_Is that a taco from the truck that hit Freddie?" Spencer asks, settling on this question._

"_Well, me being hungry isn't going to help him!" She yells at the baffled Spencer._

_He continues to stare at her before speaking again._

"_Where is Carly?" He asks._

"_I'll take you there," Sam says, urgently taking his hand and pulls him out the door._

I try to follow them out the door but again my dream has other plans for me and I'm being taken to the hospital waiting room. I see Spencer sitting by the door of the emergency room, his leg bouncing up and down impatiently. Carly comes out of the door followed by a doctor. Spencer shoots up from his waiting room chair and meets the doctor.

"Carly is just fine, nothing too serious. She has some bruises and cuts but those should heal soon."

"Thank you doctor."

"Can we see Freddie yet?" Carly asks.

"Not just yet, but in a few minutes I'll send someone out to get you guys.

Carly and Spencer take their seats and wait in silence. I look around the otherwise empty waiting room. There is only one other person there and it's a woman who seems to have fallen asleep in her chair. Sam's absence is glaring me in the face. I'm wondering where she went when Spencer answers the question for me.

"Where did Sam go?" Carly asked looking for her blond best friend.

"She went to the bathroom fifteen minutes ago…or at least that's what she told me she was doing."

I follow Carly as she walks up to the nurses' station to ask where the bathrooms were. Down the hall, take a left and then they'll be on the right. Carly followed the nurse's instructions while I continued to follow her. We get to the bathroom to find it empty, Sam had gone MIA.

No sooner had I thought that Sam had abandon us did my dream shift again. I was confused at first because the scene looked the same. I was still in a bathroom at the hospital but Carly was no longer with me. Sam was though; she sat on the floor by the door. Her head was resting on her knees, and she was silently crying. I could hear her shaky breaths. I stared in disbelief at her; I never even saw how this whole situation affected her. Her phone vibrated on the floor next to her, I leaned over and read the text she had received from Carly.

"Where are you?" it read.

"In the bathroom, I'm on my way back now." She responded before getting up.

She walked over to one of the sinks and began running the water. She splashed the water on her face. The redness went down and the tears were washed away. She fixed herself before exiting the bathroom. I followed her back to the waiting room where Carly and Spencer were both waiting by the doors.

"The nurse says we can see him now," Carly says as she heads for the door. Spencer follows her while Sam brings up the rear. The nurse that Carly had asked for directions earlier stopped them though.

"Sorry only two visitors at a time," She said sympathetically eying the three of them.

"Oh um that's cool, you and Spencer can go first. I'll just wait here." Sam suggests walking over to an empty chair.

"Are you sure Sam?" Spencer asks holding the door open.

"Yeah, I'm sure. The nub probably doesn't want to see me anyway," Sam says letting the last sentence trail off into a whisper.

I don't know what to do at this point, do I follow Carly and Spencer or do I stay with Sam. I'm torn but luckily my dream decides for me as I'm already in my hospital room. I see myself laying their practically asleep with a nurse looking over a chart. I hear a door open behind me and expect it to be Carly and Spencer but I see Sam slowly entering the room.

"How's he doing?" She asks the nurse nervously.

"He's doing well; we just gave him some medication so he can rest. He should be asleep soon."

"Oh, should I just go then," Sam says pointing towards the door.

"No honey, you can stay if you'd like." The nurse said putting the chart back on the end of my bed and leaving the two of us alone

Sam looks hesitant but she takes the seat by my bedside anyway. She begins fidgeting in the seat. I can see she's uncomfortable just sitting there. I'd already been knocked out with whatever pain meds they gave me. I can see her holding back tears as she wipes away stray ones that have escaped. Suddenly she takes a hold of my hand that hasn't been wrapped in a cast and holds it in hers.

"Freddie, I'm so sorry, this is my fault. If I hadn't have run away with your bag just to mess with you we would have already been off the street by the time that the taco truck came by. Carly wouldn't have been waiting for us in the middle of the street, and you wouldn't have had to save her. I'm so sorry."

Sam continues to hold my unbroken hand and cry. 5 minutes pass by and I'm acutely aware that I'm watching Sam in a whole new light. Samantha Puckett did have a soft side, it rarely made an appearance but when it did you took notice. The sight of Sam crying freely left me sad myself. I just wanted to reach out and hug her tightly and before I knew what I was doing I had walked right over to her and did just that.

This being a dream though Sam didn't know what I was doing. Soon she just sat there holding my hand and resting her head on the space of bed next to my body. I could see her absentmindedly stoking her small fingers across the back of my hand. Soon she takes her hand and intertwines them with my own. I can't help but smile when I see the small smile that brightens her face.

The smile is short lived though as Carly comes barging through the door breaking whatever moment of peace Sam was having.

"Spencer wants to know if you need a ride home." She asks clueless as to what was going on before she came into the room.

"Um sure, thanks."

Carly waits there patiently for Sam, but Sam asks for another minute alone. Carly obliges and walks out of the room leaving Sam behind.

"I really am sorry Freddie" she says getting up. She looks down at my body once more before bending down quickly and kissing me on the cheek. She rushes out of the room with a small blush forming on her cheeks.

I look after her shocked. Did she really just do that I think to myself. I look back and forth from the door that she ran out of and my sleeping body on the hospital bed. I look at myself more clearly and notice that a subtle grin is on my face.

This seems to be the end of my dream because next thing I know I'm being awoken by my mother who is asking me what I want to eat. I tell her I'm not hungry and after a few minutes of protest she gives up and leaves my room. I don't know what to make of the dream because I usually don't hold much stalk in my dreams but this one was amazingly vivid. I almost felt like I was having a Christmas Carol-esque dream where I've been brought into the past by a ghost. Except there was no ghost trying to show me the error of my ways, just my subconscious trying to tell me something.

I decided that I need to talk about this with someone but whom, I didn't know. I could talk to my mom about this she'd just make me go see a therapist or something. I couldn't very well talk to Carly about this; she'd just freak out and jump to conclusions. Sam was definitely out of the question as well seeing as how she probably hates me again by now. I finally landed on Spencer, he would be the voice of reason in all of this…I hope.

"Maybe you like Sam?" Spencer said.

"Maybe?"

"What, I mean look at the facts. You guys shared your first kiss right?" I nod my head to this. "You're always ragging on each other and yet you still hang out."

"We only hang out together because of Carly though," but even as I say the words I know it's not true. There have been plenty of times where we've hung out when Carly could join us.

"It just adds up dude, but to be honest I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. She's liked you for awhile now I can't believe it took her so long to crack." Spencer says incredulously.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Spencer looks taken aback "How could you have missed it? She's constantly putting down the other girls you've shown interest in, she let you believe that Melanie wasn't real and that you were smarter than her and whatever,"

"What does the possible existence of Sam's twin have to do with her liking me?"

"You asked Melanie out on a date and kissed am I correct?"

"Well yeah but I thought it was Sam and I was only trying to prove a point."

"Yes but why would Sam want you to think that she would go out with you and kiss you or even make up a person so that she could go out with you?"

Spencer had given me a lot to think about but even with all that knowledge it still didn't change my initial reaction, I think I may like Sam.

**AN: Not making any promises. Maybe once my jury duty is over I can focus on finishing this.**


	6. iSmile Again

**AN: Um….no excuses but um HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRYSTLE! (for like 2 more minutes haha)**

I woke up today making it my mission to avoid Freddie and Carly. Yesterday was just too bizarre and I just know Carly won't stop till she gets some answers. It's already noon and she's texted me at least 20 times trying to pry it out of me. I know she's mad at me for ignoring her but she'll forgive me, she always does.

I manage to make it through the whole afternoon ignoring her texts until she resorts to calling me. She calls about 3 times before I cave and answer.

"Sam! Are you okay? I've been trying to talk to you all day! What's going on?" She breathes out like its one word. I lie and say that I'm fine but she doesn't buy it. I can tell by her voice that she doesn't believe me one bit. I wouldn't either but maybe if I say it enough it'll be true.

She drops the subject though because she knows just how stubborn I can be when I don't want to talk about something. We talk about nothing for a few minutes before I'm able to end the call politely. I feel bad because she's my best friend and she's just worried but she doesn't need to be. I'll be fine eventually and the less people know about what happened between me and Freddie the better.

I hang up my cell, turn it off, throw it on my bed and leave my room hoping to avoid the world longer. The universe isn't on my side. I hear a knock on the door and before I can yell for my mom to answer it the door opens and whoever knocked just walks in.

It's Freddie. I stop in my tracks in the hallway connecting the bedrooms to the living room where the front door is. He can't see me where I stand but I can see him. I shrink into the shadows hoping he doesn't come looking for me.

"Sam? I know you're here somewhere. Please come out talk to me." He shouts into my empty living room. I wonder if my mom is home since I hadn't seen her all morning but I guess not since she doesn't come barging into the living room to see who was yelling. I stay in the hall though. I'm not ready to face him. Maybe if he thinks that I don't want to talk he'll just go away. Oh who am I kidding, even when I was talking to him he wouldn't go away.

He's about to call my name again before I force myself around the corner. I want to ask him what he wants but the way his eyes light up when he sees me has me scared. He's not supposed to look at me like that.

"Why are you here?" I manage to croak.

"To see you." He answers as if it's the normal thing for him to do; to visit me at my house; to see me. I think he can see the skepticism in my eyes. "I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday."

"I told you to forget about it. I did" I say in the strongest voice I can muster but it's obvious that I've done the complete opposite of what I said.

"Please Sam." He pleads and the look in his eyes makes me weak in the knees. Damn you hormones.

"Fine." I say sitting on the couch motioning for him that it was okay to join me.

"I want to tell you about this dream I had last night." He begins. He chuckles to himself when he sees my perplexed face because I wasn't expecting him to start the conversation that way. "My dream was about the accident." He says letting his words sink in. I shift uncomfortably because I still hate remembering anything that happened with that accident.

"In my dream I saw everything that I remember happened that day; starting from the groovy smoothie when you made me pay for your drink to chasing you with my backpack to getting hit by the truck." He explains. My spirits life when he fails to mention that he was pushing Carly out of the way. "Then it took me to the hospital and I was watching everyone as they waited to hear about me. I saw Carly and Spencer in the waiting room. But you weren't there. "

"Freddie."

"No now you have to wait until I finish Puckett." He interrupts me seriously. "So I'm wondering where you are and poof there you are. In the bathroom crying and it broke my heart." I'm staring at him mouth gaping.

"So then after that I see myself in the hospital bed and you sitting by my bedside. And you're talking to me even though I'm not awake to hear you."

"What did I say?" My curiosity gets the better of me.

"That doesn't matter; all that you need to know is that the accident wasn't your fault. If anything I'm glad it happened."

"Freddie why would you say something like that; you almost died." I shout at him.

"But I didn't Sam." Freddie whispered. I just now realized that he had scooted closer to me throughout his story. "I'm glad it happened because it brought me here. To this realization that I like you. I like you a lot. You're violent, you're aggressive, you're just plain mean sometimes but I wouldn't change a thing about you because then you wouldn't be Samantha Puckett; the girl that I shared my first kiss with. The girl I want to share my next kiss with." He recited leaning towards me and kissing me lightly on the lips. He must have taken my inaction as a good sign because he leaned in once more kissing me more confidently.

"Freddie." I say pulling away. "Are you sure about this?" I ask showing my rare vulnerable side. He nods his head yes and looks me in the eyes again causing the muscles in my face to twitch my lips upward in a smile.

"This is exactly what I want." He says pulling me into a hug for emphasis.

"Okay," I continue to smile "But if we're going to do this for real there's something that you need to know. No one was ever with you in the emergency room. You're cuckoo for coco puffs mom kicked us out as soon as she got their and told security that me and Carly weren't allowed to visit you after we just tried to kill you."

"Oh.. mom…" He sighs hanging his head down in shame before bursting into laughter. "Imagine how she'll feel about me dating one of my attempted murders." He laughs wrapping his and around my own and rubbing small circles with his thumb. I smile and laugh before attempting to punch him in the shoulder. He catches my hand with his and brings me into his chest kissing me forcefully. I'm smiling into the kiss as I relax my fists.

**AN: And that ladies and gentlemen (if there are any who are reading this) is the end. Review?**

**XOXO-Sam**


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